The Cut Above

DILIP NADKARNI, ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON

8216;8216;There was this star, who came to my chamber in a Jaguar. Within half-an-hour, 500 people had gathered there, making it impossible for me to enter my own clinic. So now I make house-calls whenever possible.8217;8217; That8217;s Dr Nadkarni for you. From top sportsmen to filmstars, dancers and playback singers 8212; in short, anyone whose knees are vital to their careers 8212; they have all beaten the path to Dr Nadkarni8217;s door. 8216;8216;Ravi Shastri came to me after the entire media had written him off. I found his flexibility top grade, and he went on to play this fantastic innings. Then, I remember treating Davis Cup player Sandeep Kirtane on the court 8212; he went on to win the match!8217;8217; says Nadkarni.

Ask him about the difference between a star patient and an ordinary one, and the simile trots out promptly: 8216;8216;It8217;s like servicing a Ferrari and a Fiat. The stars are always under pressure. There was this top film star, who had sprained his ankle, and wanted to dance at an awards function two days later. I had just those two days to cure him!8217;8217;

NARESH TREHAN, CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEON

Arguably the most sought-after heart surgeon in the country, Dr Trehan8217;s standard address between 9 am and 9 pm is the operation theatre at Escorts Heart and Research Institute. After hours, it8217;s video-conferencing, consultations or supervision of surgeries performed by his subordinates. Or the phone, which starts ringing when he is out on his exercise trail at 7 am, and doesn8217;t stop through the day.

Some of those callers are Very Important People: Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit, senior Congress leader Arjun Singh, artist M F Husain and many others he8217;d rather not name 8216;8216;as demanded by medical ethics8217;8217;. But while they do get more attention, since they have special needs like security and privacy, the treatment, he insists, remains the same. 8216;8216;The doctor-patient relationship, the treatment pattern have to be upheld. Fussing about a patient delays results,8217;8217; he says.

AMAR AGARWAL, OPTHALMOLOGIST

8216;8216;International communications and matters relating to my books between 3 am and 7 am, operations between 7 am and 7 pm and teaching karate from 7 pm. My day ends at 10.30 pm.8217;8217; That8217;s the daily schedule of Dr Agarwal, at 42 one of the biggest names in vitreo-retinal diseases and director of Dr Agarwal8217;s Eye Hospital in Chennai, Bangalore, Dubai and Trichy. It8217;s one of the only two ISO 9002 eye hospitals in India, the other being Sankara Nethralaya. In between attending to actress Simran, former chief minister M K Karunanidhi names he does not drop, and sundry other actors, politicians and sportspersons, he has pioneered a technique in laser cataract surgery called Phakonit, which requires an incision of 0.9 mm, making injections, stitches and eye-pads unnecessary. More recently, his Zyoptix laser treatment made news for its efficient correction of myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism.

Opthalmology is akin to lifeblood for Agarwal 8212; his father Dr J Agarwal was the first to introduce cryosurgery in India for the removal of cataracts 8212; and he never feels the need to take a break. With more than his fair share of celeb patients, Agarwal often finds himself the subject of conversation at social gatherings, but he rarely attends them himself. 8216;8216;The doctor is one person the man trusts. Big shots are as humble as the next person.8217;8217;

S S BADRINATH, OPTHALMOLOGIST, FOUNDER OF SANKARA NETHRALAYA

With his 24-year-old baby Sankara Nethralaya already passing into legend, Padma Bhushan Dr Badrinath has turned his attention elsewhere: creating a network of the 900 registered opthalmologists in Tamil Nadu to provide eye care in out-of-reach areas. He is also involved in the administration of the Nethralaya, having recently introduced training in transcription services and tele-opthalmology for diagnosis in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Having specialised in vitreo-retinal diseases, Badrinath still sees about six patients a day, but 8216;8216;they8217;re mostly old patients and this is a chance to catch up on news8217;8217;. This is one name that8217;s really hard to drop in come-lately circles, but one that promises a reaction.

PYARELAL TIWARI, CARDIOLOGIST

Just last week, his photographs with actress Rani Mukherjee were splashed all over the media. Pull his leg about it, and Dr Tiwari admits, 8216;8216;I never go to premieres and only rarely to awards functions but I do have dinner with the celebs at times.8217;8217;

This cardiologist attached to Bombay Hospital has them all 8212; police commissioners, IAS officers and ministers 8212; coming to him for treatment. 8216;8216;All these people have to appear fit all the time, so I can8217;t reveal their names,8217;8217; he says. To make their life a little easier, Dr Tiwari has a little back door exclusively for the use of his celeb patients. And though they can well afford it, Dr Tiwari8217;s services are free for them.

MOHAN KAMESWARAN, ENT SURGEON

It is Dr Kameswaran8217;s speciality that makes him a hot favourite with Carnatic musicians, playback singers, actors down south. Having established the first voice laboratory in the country in Chennai, Dr Kameswaran finds himself regularly peering down the throat of actors like Mohanlal and Vijay, Carnatic artistes like Madurai T N Seshagopalan and Maharajpuram Santhanam and playback singer Chitra. 8216;8216;Almost everyone from the film and music industry in the South comes here, for the voice lab,8217;8217; he says unabashedly. Celeb nakhras are unheard of. 8216;8216;Most of them stick to their appointments and the awareness levels are very high. This could be due to the culture in the South. We are a very self-effacing people,8217;8217; he says.

To accommodate his demanding schedule, Dr Kameswaran begins his day at 7 am and retires around 1 am. 8216;8216;I catch up with my wife during train journeys and flights. I8217;m not a great family man,8217;8217; says Dr Kameswaran. 8216;8216;The little spare time I get, I spend on my little farm at Sriperumbedur, where I grow organic vegetables.8217;8217;

KANIR BHATIA, IMPLANTOLOGIST AND COSMETIC DENTIST

In a smart move, Dr Bhatia set up his dental clinic at JVPD, home to many of Mumbai8217;s stars. He is the man behind former Miss Universe Lara Dutta8217;s perfect smile; so impressed was she with his work, she brought boyfriend Kelly Dorji to him too.

By no means are they his only celeb clients. 8216;8216;Beauty contestants, stars, models, wannabes8230; name them, and they8217;ve sat here,8217;8217; says Dr Bhatia, gesturing at the dreaded chair. 8216;8216;I remember, Lara Dutta would come here straight from her gym workouts, so tired she would doze off here.8217;8217;

Most celebs 8212; and wannabes, for that matter 8212; says Bhatia, are very sure of what they want. 8216;8216;Even if the smile is just a little short of perfect, they want us to work on it,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;They8217;ll happily shell out between Rs 10,000 and Rs 42,000 for the job. Their nakhras are with scheduling. Once you are in the chair, the dentist is the boss.8217;8217;

DR G R MANI, CARDIOLOGIST

Dr Mani is one of those rare doctors who admit to becoming friends with a person whom he literally knows inside out. 8216;8216;I operated on Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia of Gwalior, and was quite close to her till her death,8217;8217; says the doctor who is attached to Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. 8216;8216;While I was attending on her, Madhav Rao was in the hospital all through. Even the prime minister came to visit her.8217;8217;

Though Dr Mani believes the doctor-patient relationship is not influenced by the celebrity factor of either, he admits that there is often 8216;8216;extra pressure8217;8217; on such a case. 8216;8216;I remember being very nervous when I was operating on Narottam Puri, who is also a childhood friend. But the moment I made the incision, he was just another patient for me.8217;8217;

S K BHANDARI, GYNAECOLOGIST

Most recently in the news for delivering Priyanka Gandhi8217;s daughter, Dr Bhandari is head of the department of gynaecology and obstetrics at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi. Not many know that she was involved with the Priyanka8217;s birth as well. 8216;8216;I came to know Sonia Gandhi during her first pregnancy. Their obstetrician introduced me to the Nehru-Gandhi family,8217;8217; she says. 8216;8216;But all my patients are very private people, and I respect that.8217;8217;

SHARAD PANDEY, CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEON

Son Chunky may not have lasted long in Bollywood, but few denizens of tinseltown can afford to forget his father, Dr Pandey. He is secretive about his celeb clientele 8212; 8216;8216;they have faith in us, so we don8217;t like to give their names8217;8217; 8212; but it is well-known that actress Rekha is more than just a friend to Dr Pandey and his wife Snehlata. 8216;8216;Heart surgery costs anywhere between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1 lakh, but I charge my celeb patients a bit more than others because they expect more. Like, someone will say, 8216;Can you see me at night, I don8217;t want anyone to know.8217; We accommodate them, not because they are important, but because they need their privacy.8217;8217;

The doctor-patient relation changes after-hours, when movies and dinners and drives with the stars are commonplace. 8216;8216;During treatment, the doctor has the upper hand, but once cured, they revert to their normal behaviour,8217;8217; he says, a trifle ruefully.

By Rosella Stephen in Chennai, Renuka Suryanarayan in Mumbai and Toufiq Rashid in New Delhi